Romanian Hacker "Guccifer" to be Extradited to U.S.

Romanian Court Approves Extradition of Hacker "Guccifer" to United States

Marcel Lazar Lehel, the 42-year-old Romanian national known as “Guccifer” and accused of breaching the online accounts of several public figures, will be extradited to the United States.

Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice approved the extradition request of U.S. authorities on Friday. The supreme court has agreed to hand over the hacker to the United States for a period of 18 months.

Using the online moniker “Guccifer,” Marcel Lazar Lehel is said to have hacked into the email accounts of several people in the United States between December 2012 and January 2014, including members of the Bush family, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, venture capitalist John Doerr, journalists, actors, and military officials. He also targeted at least two Romanian officials.

The hacker said he breached their accounts by guessing the answers to security questions.

Romanian authorities arrested Lazar in January 2014 with the aid of U.S. authorities. In June 2014, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison for hacking the accounts of Romanian politician Corina Cretu and George Maior, the head of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI).

Shortly after his sentencing in Romania, the United States Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury had indicted the hacker on charges of wire fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice.

Lazar, known by Romanian authorities as “Little Fume,” had previously received a three-year suspended sentence for hacking into the online accounts of many celebrities in Romania.

Eduard Kovacs is an international correspondent for SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.